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For outdoorsy Dunn, Texas home a sanctuary

Home Field Advantage tour shows off slugger's prized possessions, hobbies

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Home Field Advantage: Dunn 3:08

Adam Dunn and his wife, Rachel, give a tour of their home on Coldwell Banker Home Field Advantage

By Mark Newman
/
MLB.com |

Adam Dunn and Brian McCann were teammates on the United States club in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, each hitting a two-run homer in a first-round victory over Canada.

Five years later, McCann's No. 16 USA home jersey from that tournament hangs in a framed display on a wall with many other jerseys in the media room of Dunn's house in Texas. McCann's inscription with a marker on the back of that jersey reads: "To Adam, the best DH in the National League ... no seriously."

Dunn was with the Nationals when he received the jersey, hence the reference to the NL. He is known within Major League Baseball more for his bat than his glove.

"I got snubbed in Gold Gloves a few years," jokes Dunn, now with the White Sox, who use him mainly as a designated hitter or first baseman. "I think six or eight, maybe 10."

"This is where I feel comfortable; it's home," Dunn says during the tour, as he and wife Rachel walk room to room. "When everyone's together and we're here, it's perfect."

"We feel very fortunate that we get to live in Chicago during the season," Rachel added. "The kids really enjoy it; the weather is amazing. It's a lot cooler in the summer than it is here in Texas, which is nice. We just really enjoy it. We take full advantage of the city, and we're very fortunate to get to do that."

"It's awesome when we're together in Chicago in that house," Adam said, "but to me, that's a house. This is home."

Dunn, a 14-year veteran, homered in three straight games during Chicago's last road trip and entered this week with 11 long balls for a White Sox team trying to get back to .500. That put Dunn up to 451 for his career, meaning he may be a season or two away from reaching an important milestone -- one that would be commemorated in this same mansion.

"My dad got these made for me," Dunn said in a room that features a couple of important memorabilia displays. "That's my 300th homer, and that's my 400th. I'm not sure where I'm going to put my 500th. No, I haven't hit it yet."

There are antlers on the wall of that same trophy room, and that is not surprising, given Dunn's passion for the great outdoors. Want to know what it's like to shoot a buck with a crossbow? Dunn gives a demonstration using a plastic 3D archery target in his backyard.

Dunn's arrow pierces the front left leg of the fake deer and juts out the right leg. He removes it.

"Anybody can shoot that," Dunn says, pointing at the midsection of the deer. "But when you're aiming for this, and it comes out the leg like that, that's impressive.

"This is something I can't do in my backyard in Chicago, that's for sure. This is the reason I live here. It's the reason why I live in Texas."

Rachel shows visitors their sprawling kitchen and dining area. They have two boys and a baby girl, and the youngest is taken out of her high chair and handed to Adam as they walk.

"This is definitely where we create the most mess and have the most memories," Rachel said. "We are in this area, either in the family room or in the kitchen or at the table, pretty much most of the day. We really try to make it a family event every night. That's very important to us. I would definitely say that food is big for our family."

Watch the video, and you'll see a picture of Dunn kneeling in a No. 19 University of Texas football uniform during his brief stay there, framed No. 44 Reds and Nationals youth jerseys for son Brady, a sophomore high school football picture and a swimming pool that stays busy, especially during the offseason or breaks to get back home, such as trips to face the Rangers in Arlington.

"Anywhere that we have been has been our home as long as we're together as a family unit," Rachel said. "That's the most important thing."

Mark Newman is enterprise editor of MLB.com. Read and join other baseball fans on his MLB.com community blog. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.